Ontario Traffic Ticket Offenses

The Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) maintains records of Ontario traffic ticket offenses, convictions and suspension data related to motor vehicle use. According to the Ontario Road Safety Annual Report (ORSAR) 2007, there were 1,305,599 convictions related to the Highway Traffic Act (HTA), which contributed to nearly 89.8% of all the motor vehicle convictions in Ontario. The second largest percentage group was insurance related convictions under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act (CAIA), which was a total of 85,738 convictions and comprised 5.9% of the total. These two main groups are followed by out of province exchanged convictions (under the HTA) of 27,928 (1.9%), and the convictions under the Criminal Code of Canada of 16,938 (excluding 709 convictions for young offenders).

The following table shows a breakdown of Ontario traffic ticket offenses & convictions in 2007:

Traffic Tickets

In general, a “traffic ticket” falls under two categories. For minor offences, there will be a set fine for the ticket. For more serious offences, the ticket will be in the form of a summons which will require you to attend court where your guilt or innocence will be determined and penalties will be imposed.

Parking tickets are different. There are no demerit points added to your driving record. If you do not pay the set fine, you will not be able to renew your vehicle permit (licence plate). Your fine will be referred to a collection agent and the information will be sent to a credit bureau if you fail to pay on time. If you paid the fine within the required time frame (15 days), there is almost no other consequence.

When you receive a traffic ticket, some of the following options may be available to you:

You could do nothing, which is not recommended because once you are convicted, even in your absence, and fail to pay a fine within the set time, this will cause further consequences, i.e. affecting our credit, your licence plates and your driver’s licence.

You can pay the set fine without going to court, which admits that you are guilty of the offence.

You can go to court, enter a guilty plea with submission to request a reduced penalty.

You can go to court and plead not guilty and fight the charge, either to something lower or a full trial.

Before you pay the set fine or decide to plead guilty in court, you should always consider the following consequences:

Demerit points

Insurance premiums

Licence suspension

Vehicle impoundment

Fines

Imprisonment

Civil liability

Even though you will not get a criminal record for a provincial offence, such as a traffic ticket, it is always advisable to fight the charge because the conviction will remain on your driving record and you will not be pardoned for those convictions. These will remain on your record forever!

With the assistance of our experienced legal representation, there is an opportunity to avoid or reduce demerit points, avoid increasing insurance premiums, the length of the licence suspension, vehicle impoundment, the amount of the fine and any jail time. You would be required to pay reasonable legal fees, but there is a great opportunity to avoid financial burden or legal consequences in the long run. Investing in proper legal representatives should save you money in the long-term.

You should also keep in mind that the initial consultation is usually free; you have nothing to lose by contacting us. Please refer to “Detailed Contact Information”.

The legal fees usually pay for themselves through lesser fines and insurance premiums very quickly, not even accounting for the other legal consequences.

The officer formed a suspicion that Mr. T. had alcohol in his body and told him that he would require him to give a screening sample of his breath. The officer then went off to find a roadside breath screening device.

The Aitken Robertson Advantage

Was almost done my court matters and was charged with a breach of conditional sentence which could mean I could be sent to jail to finish the remainder of my sentence. I had Lavinia who worked very hard and got me an amazing deal which meant only paying a fine and no time. I’m very happy with her services and recommend the team.

Rob Martin

13:06 29 Jun 18

The team at Aitken Robertson are professional and understanding. I hired Richard after my 2 DUI Charge in less than 10 years...so you can imagine I was in some serious trouble. Richards team looked at every aspect and angle of my case and where able to get the charge reduced down to careless driving without even going to trial. We where scheduled for a 2 day trial but like Richard said the Crown Blinked....... Thanks again everyone :)

Rose Myers

12:15 24 Jul 18

The team at Aitkens Robertson in peterborough are truley amazing!!! Phil and Carol are a great team to fight for you.Had some serious charges almost back to back.Both Phil and Carol worked endlessly to get us the best possible outcome with tremendous success.! They both have a great understanding and care of young adults and explained everything more then once.Made time for us any time needed.Highly recommended

Brian Colley

18:43 30 May 18

Look no further! The legal services provided to me by the Aitken Robertson team was an absolute success. Without going into detail regarding my case I am grateful for the support and outcome of my case. it was clear I made the right decision, the knowledge and experience displayed was very impressive to say the least. Thank you Susan, Edmund, Richard and Nasif.

Victoria P

21:36 25 Jun 18

The staff is very patient and understanding and they all work together in order to get you the best results. I would recommend this service to anyone.

Mark Kroening

18:07 20 Feb 19

Great experience with this firm. Phil is the best and obviously knows what he's doing. Ended up getting my charge dropped. Would highly recommend.

DB

17:49 16 Nov 18

Mr Cardy is an amazing legal representative and person. Yes Amazing. I was facing a challenging trial do too complicated traffic charges. After getting to speak with Mr Cardy he alleviated alot of stress and concern that burdened me for 1 year. He provided valuable knowledge and was quite intelligent and that eased my stress of the approaching Trial Court Date . He provided an abundance of research and paperwork as I was doing the same but he just had that intelligent edge and legal insight that was confidence building. He was very kind and a pleasure too speak with and very personable. On my court Date Mr Cardy spoke with the crown attorney and all Charges were dropped. I did not even enter the courtroom . Mr Cardy is truly amazing legal representative and great person from our interaction. I cant thank him enough and highly recommend acquiring him as Legal Counsel.